Land Rover Defender 90

With a starting price that is not far off £45,000 the Defender is not cheap. However, that price is including VAT, so the more relevant starting price for the 90 is just over £36,000, while the 110 kicks off at just over £43,000 excluding VAT.

This entry price is in the same sort of territory as the top-end Ford Ranger MS-RT pickup, and you can pay more for a Defender should you wish – the top-of-the-range version will set you back in excess of £55,000. The only thing that makes this look good value is the Land Rover Discovery Commercial.

Running costs are about standard for a commercial vehicle that is geared to spend a lot of time off road, with official average mpg figures in the early 30s. This puts it on a par with the better pickup trucks although it is more efficient than the Toyota Land Cruiser. Economy is aided by a 48V mild-hybrid system that takes some of the strain off the engine at acceleration and start up.

Anyone running a Defender Hard Top as a company vehicle will benefit from its status as a commercial vehicle as it qualifies for the lower benefit-in-kind rating that applies to vans. This means the relatively high CO2 rating doesn’t matter and it will be much cheaper in terms of company car tax payments than the equivalent passenger version.